Powder puff and method for manufacturing the same



April 9, 1935. I R. BlHLER ,997,038

POWDER PUFF AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME Original Filed July 8, 1932 INVENTOR Roger 'BiMer ATTORNEYS BY 95M.

Patented Apr. 9, 1935 UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE POWDER PUFF AND METHOD FOR MANU- FACTURING THE SAME Roger Bihler, College Point, N. Y., assignor to Baronet-Lorna C0,, Inc., College Point, N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application July 8, 1932, Serial No.

621,343. Divided and this application January 7 30, 1933, Serial No. 654,170 I 6 Claims. (01. 13.2-78.5)

.5 In manufacturing powder puffs a plurality of plies of plush or velour fabricare superposed face to face or nap to nap and stitched for most of their periphery. Special machines have been devised tofacilitate this stitchingoperation in order to make possible quantity production methods, and such a machine is disclosed in my Patent No. 1,808,805 issued June 9, 1931. The pouch thus formed is inverted or turned inside out so as to bring the plush or velour surface outermost, dur ing or after which turning operation the puff may be stuifed with a suitable soft filling, if desired. The remaining opening has ordinarily invariably been stitched by hand, thereby greatly lengtheningthe time and increasing the cost of manufacture of the powder puff.

The primary and general object of the present invention resides in the provision of a novel form of powder puff and of a method for so manufacturing the same that the powder puff will be united entirely around itsperiphery by a single machine stitching operation performed in only a single sewing machine.

The present application is a division of my 00- pending parent application Ser. No. 621,343 filed 'July 8, 1932. The said parent application discloses the powder puff and method for making the same, and further discloses a novel powder puff sewing machine suitable for practicing the invention. The claims of the said parent application are more particularly directed to the apparatus or sewing machine, while the claims of the present application are directed to the powder puff and method of making the same.

More particularly, one object of the present invention resides in the provision of a method of manufacturing a powder puff, in accordance with which the puff is stitched entirely around its periphery until the last stitch comes immediately adjacent the first stitch, after which the loops of thread at the end stitches are quickly and readily opened to form a breach or opening through which the puif may be turned. The ends of the thread may then be knotted by hand in order to close the temporarily open breach inthe stitching. Still another object of the present invention is to enlarge the breach obtained by opening the adjacent loops as aforesaid, and thereby to facilitate the turning operation; and with this object in view the first and last stitches are elongated relative to the remaining or normal.

stitches used around the periphery of the powder puff. This directly increases the available opening through which the puff is turned, and, at the same time, dueto a loosening of the next remoter loops of stitching, the effective opening is still further increased. v

Another object of the present invention resides in the production of an improved article or powder puff, the powder puff produced in accordance with the present methodbeing characterized by a smooth, soft, perfectly rounded or circular edge which is in noway marred either by hand stitching or by machine stitching of the character set forth in my copending application referred to. Still another object is to so close or finish the peripheral stitching of the turned article that there will be no possibility of the stitching opening upor becoming loosened in course of use.

To the accomplishment ofthe foregoing and such other objects as will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the powder puff and method for making the same, as hereinafter are more particularlydescribed in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims. The specification is accompanied by a drawing in which: I Fig. 1 illustrates the embryo powder puff immediately after the stitching operation;

r Fig. 2 is an edge view of the same with the plies of fabric drawn slightly apart;

Fig. 3 shows the formation of a breach or opening in the powder puff after releasing. the adjacent loops of stitching;

Fig. 4 illustrates how the puff may be turned, and further how it may simultaneously be provided with a layer of filling or stuffing material;

Fig. 5 is an edge view of the powder puff after it has been turned and before the opening is closed; and

Fig. 6 illustrates the method of closing the opening in and locking the stitching of the pow- The method of my invention and the article produced thereby may best be explained by reference to Figs. 1 through 6 of the drawing. Referring to these figures, the multi-ply turned article is particularly exemplified by a powder pull, the said powder puff comprising plies of material I I2 and I I4 arranged in superposed relation and stitched entirely around their periphery by a line of machine stitching H6. In the case of a powder puff the fabric preferably is a soft piled material such as plush or velour, and the plies are arranged in face to face or nap to nap hook I38 shown in Fig. 3, the loopsl30 and I32 the stitching in order to permit the embryo-puff to be turned. It should also be noted that the stitching is preferably performed-with a pair of threads, an upper thread I22 and a lower thread I24, as is customary with ordinary machine stitching, and this pair of threads is carried entirely around the powderpufl by the sewing ma-. chine until the stitching is terminated by the ends I26 and I28 of the upper and lowerthreads. The free ends of thread are preferably left substantial inlength, as is indicated'throughout the drawing, in order to readily permit a breach of substantial size to be formed between the plies of material H2 and H4, as is-shown in Fig. '3,

and to facilitate a manual tying operation, as is illustrated in Fig. 6.

If the edges-of the plies offabric are drawn apart slightly'at the terminal of the stitching, aneffect will be produced such as is illustrated in Fig. z exposing the loops I30 of the initial stitch H8 and the loops 132 of the finalstitch- I20. At the'sa'me time the next remote loops I34 and I35 may also become somewhatloosened,

With the aid of aneedle, pin, or,. more preferably, a specially designed hook such as the may quickly and readily be opened, therebyproducing'the effect shown'in Fig. 3. It-shoilld beunderstood that it is simply necessary to-catch the hook I38 beneath the group of threads com prising-the loopsl30 and I32, and to-thereupon draw the hook-I38 upwardly, as a result of which the arrangement shown in Fig. 3, resulting in a substantial opening or breach I40,will be immediately and directly produced. This breach-or opening I40 is-then taken-advantage of to permit the desired turning or inverting operation forthe powder puff.

In order to enlarge-the opening I40 and to thereby facilitate the turning operation, I have found it desirable to lengthen or increase the size of the first or last stitch or several stitches of thepow'de'r puff. This is clearly-evident from an inspection of Fig. 1"in which it willbe observed that the initial and terminal stitches I I8 and I 20 as well as the next remote stitches are substantially longer than the remaining or normal stitches H6. It is this change from the normal stitching operationwhich permits the breach or opening I40 to take the relatively large dimension shown in Fig. 3, even though the breach has been formed merely by loosening only the most closely adjacent loops I30 and I32 of the stitching.

The embryo puff is then turned through opening I40, and this turning operation may, if desired, be facilitated by the use of a clamp suchas 'is shown in Fig.4, the said clamp comprising an upright post I42having an oifsethead I44 with which cooperates a r'eciprocable clamping jaw I46. -By securing the edge of thematerial in the clamp at a point diametricallyopposite the opening I40, it is then readily possible to draw the powder puff downwardly over the head I44 and about the post I 42,'the edge of one ply of material I I2 being drawn downwardlyat one side of the post I42, while the edge of the other ply of material I I4 is drawn downwardly at the opposite side of the post I42. If the powder puff is to be supplied with a filler or stufi'ing, this may most simply and conveniently be done by utilizing the same in. the form of alamination of filler, material I 48 preferably somewhat smaller in diameter than the outer plies H2 and I I4, which lamination I48 may be placed on the outside of the puff before clamping the same, as is clearly shown in Fig. 4, so that upon turning'the embryo puff as before described, the filler material I48 is brought inside of and spread uniformly throughoutthe'turned puff.

Before passing on to the next stage of the process, ,it may not be amiss to point out that the women performing this turning operation become so skillful that ordinarily they do not need or desire to use clamping mechanism such as has been described, but instead simply employ'a stick .or post which may, forexample, be the post I42 provided with the offsethe'ad I44 but omitting the clamping jaw I46. The puff with or withoutthe layer of filling material is then simply held against the headI44 withone finger, .while the puff is turned downwardly over the post I42.

The turnedpowder puff then has an appearance somewhat .as is illustrated in Fig. 5, the'so'ft and delicate piledsurface of the fabric being brought outermost, while the breach I40 is still left in its open condition. The loopsl34 and I38 this, it may be observed, is one of the things which helps make possible the turning of the powder" puff, as shown in Fig. 4, because the slack in loops I34 and I36 effectively increases the size of the opening I40. h

To close. andflnish the powder puff it is only necessary to tie the .ends of the thread together.

These ends may be tied "in a number of ways,.

either with a single knot or with a-pair of knots, but I prefer to finish the puff by separately tying the. end I22 to the endl24, and the end I26 to the end I28. When this procedure is followeditlis .easy to take up the slack in'the end stitches and to draw the threads taut, and at the same time the exposed edge of the puff maybe'finished in a also remain in a relatively loose or slack state and smoothand soft manner by turning the loops or edges of the opening I40 inwardly duringthe knotting of the threads.

The operation is most. conveniently thoughnot necessarily performed by temporarily slipping the puff between a pair of clamping surfaces'ifill and I52 so that both hands are left free'for the tying operation. The clamp does not need to exert'apa preciable grip upon the powder puff, and in no way mars or injuresthe smooth and delicatep-il-e surface of the same. While the puff is held in the .clamp the operator simply ties the ends I22 and I 24 together,.as is illustrated in Fig. 6, after which the ends I26 and I28 may be drawn taut and also tied together. The manner inwhich the ends of the thread pass through the outer or pile surface of the fabric, as is best shown in Fig. 5, insures that the edges of the opening I40 .will turn inwardly when the threads are knotted togeth'e'rf but, if desired, the operator may take the precaution of urging the aforesaid edgesinwardly during the tying operation.

The sewing operation is preferably performed on a powder puff sewing machine which insures rapid and truly circular sewing, but the sewing machine is preferably modified toinclude automatic stitch lengthening mechanism arrangedto elongate the first and last few stitches ofathe complete sewing operation. A preferred form of sewing machine for this purpose is described and claimed in my copending parent application Ser. No. 621,343, previously referred to.

It is believed that my novel powder puff, which is machine stitched entirely around its periphery with only a single continuous pair of threads, and the method of making the same, as well as the many advantages thereof, will all be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. The powder puff or, more generally, any turned enclosed article may be made with only a single machine operation, the material being stitched entirely around its periphery in either an ordinary sewing machine or, more preferably, a specially designed machine modified for stitching, as heretofore described. The powder puff is completely machine stitched, and the usual hand stitching operation subsequent to the machine stitching of the puff is entirely dispensed with. A few simple manual manipulations, as described in connection with Figs. 1 through 6, sufiice to provide the desired inversion of the puff, simultaneous stuffing of the same, and closing the breach in the pufi". The breach is closed by threads which are nicely spaced to result in a smooth unmarred finish, and yet which are securely knotted to prevent opening of the puff at any future time. The method of my invention greatly speeds up and cheapens the cost of manufacture of the powder puff, while the,

resulting article is far superior to that made by manual processes, both as regards regular configuration or outline (the complete line of stitching being truly circular), and also as regards smoothness and softness of the pile at the edge of the powder puff.

It will be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made in the method and structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention, defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In the manufacture of enclosed turned multi-ply articles, the method which includes superimposing plies of material, machine stitching the plies of material from a starting point entirely around their peripheries back to approximately the starting point with a continuous line of substantially uniformly taut stitches, opening the loops of the adjacent end stitches and thereby providing an appreciable opening in the periphery of the article, turning the article through the aforesaid opening, and finally tying the original thread ends together in order to close said opening.

2. In the manufacture of powder puffs, the method which includes superimposing plies of material, machine stitching the plies of material from a starting point entirely around their peripheries back to approximately the starting point with a continuous line of substantially uniformly taut stitches with upper and lower threads, opening the inside loops of the upper and lower threads of the adjacent end stitches and thereby providing an appreciable opening in the periphery of the stitched puff, with the four original thread ends projecting from the inner faces of the material, turning the puff through the aforesaid opening, and finally tyingthe ends of the threads together in order to close the aforesaid opening.

8. In the manufacture of powder puffs, the method which includes superimposing plies of material in inverted condition, machine stitching the plies of material entirely around their peripheries with upper and lower threads until the last stitch comes closely adjacent the first, the stitches being substantially uniformly taut, engaging the loops of the adjacent end stitches between the plies of material and lifting the same upwardly to open the loops and thereby provide an appreciable opening in the periphery of the stitched puff,.turning the puff through the afore-' said opening and thereby bringing the four original ends of the threads to the outside of the puff, and finally tying the ends of the threads to.- gether in order to turn in the edges of the opening and toclose the said opening.

4. In the manufacture of powder puffs, the method which includes superimposing plies of material, machine stitching the same with two threads entirely around the periphery of the plies of material, elongating the first and last few stitches relative to the normal or remaining stitches, opening the loops of the adjacent end and elongated stitches in order to provide a substantial opening, turning the puff through the aforesaid opening, and finally tying the ends of the upper and lower threads together in order to close the opening.

5. In the manufacture of powder puffs, the method which includes superimposing plies of material, machine stitching the same entirely around the periphery of the plies of material back to approximately the starting point with a continuous line of substantially uniformly taut stitches, opening the loops of the adjacent end stitches in order to provide a substantial opening, applying a layer of filler material to the exterior of the puff, thereafter turning the puff with the filler material through the aforesaid opening, and finally tying the thread ends together in order to close the opening. I

6. In the manufacture of powder puffs, the method which includes superimposing plies of material, machine stitchingthe same with two threads entirely around the periphery of the plies of material, elongating the first and last few stitches relative to the normal or remaining stitches, opening the loops of the adjacent'end and elongated stitches in order to provide a sub-' stantial opening, applying a layer of filler material to the exterior of the puff, thereafter turning the puff with the filler material through the aforesaid opening, and finally tying the upper and lower threads at the starting end of the stitching together and also tying the upper and lower threads at the terminal end of the stitching together in order to close the opening.

ROGER BIHLER. 

